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S. H. WDODARD.

HULL CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT-26| 19|?.

1,318,712. Patented 001111919.

UNITED sTATns PATnNToFFicE.

sILAsH. woonnnli. or

HULL GONSTRUGTION.

` Application filed Y 5.=1*tember To all 'whom I? may concern r` Be it known that LSILAS'H. WooDARD,.a

citizen of the United States, and a vresident of Scarsdale, in the .county o f Westchester and State of New York, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Hull Construction, of which the; following vis a specification, reference being `made to .the

accompanying drawings., forming a part thereof.

My invention relates toy improvementsin the methods @f construction and building of ships and floating bodies generally, ythe .ob-

. jects being, among .other things, to form the hull construction of reinforced concrete preferably of .cellular formation providing a double bottom, with a wooden outer covering or sheathing., whichsheathing Shall provide not only a form for .the casting of the concrete, but shall also' thereafter serve the purposeof water-proofing the .concrete hull against seepage, thereby protecting the concrete and .the reinforcing iron or steel from deterioration by .the laction of sea water. The wooden sheath-ing also serves'toprotcot the concrete hull from chipping and'cracks caused by knocks and blows against piers or other, objects with'whichvthe ship comes contact. g Y v A further aim .of my invention is to .pro-

lVide novel means andinethods ,by `Whchthe wooden sheathing is secured both to the'concrete body and the reinforcing rods embedded in the concrete in such a manner thatthe very greatly the strength and stabilityof the hull 'as .a whole.

,With .these and other objects inlvew,` my ignvcntionconsists in theA nofvelv features of methods of construction and v.combi-nation `of.

4.parts hereinaftermore fullydescribed'and particularly pointed. out iny the appended`v claims. c

Referring .to .the drawings, Figure is a vertical sectional view r.ofensa-half of my improved hull construction, such. view being suicient to showithe invention.

Fig-2 `is an, enlarged-, V fragmentary sectional viewtaken onl the line'22` of Fig. 1; .Y

and, Fig.

Similar numerals referto similar parts throughout the several; .vie-Ws.

is; an enlargedk ffraginentary k sectional .view taken on the' line 3-3 of ]1`1g.f2.`

scsnsentn, NEW :manY

26, 1917. Serial No. 193,2345,

Patented oct'. 14 1919.

proved hull construction as comprising the Y keel 4 from which are laid outwardly in the usual longitudinal formation the wooden planks 5 4Whichare built and secured together within an outer iframe (not shown) by any of the common methods of carpenter construction, suchv planks 5' forming the wooden covering .orsheathing 6 for the inner `reinforced concrete which constitutes the body of my.V improved hull construction. Preferably fform .the reinforced concrete body in a cellular form thereby providing a double bottom with water-tight compartments; forfthe ship. After :the wooden sheathing k6 has been constructed I erect a series Aof collapsible forms .extending laterally and then'upwardly'from the keel 4 and bottom to provide the hollow cells 7 between V the ribs S and Spefor the formation .of the inner and outer. bottoms .9. and 1.0 respectively. These forms. may ybe spaced apart. from .one `another and fromthe reinforce. ments shown .in Fig.'2 by any of the usual methods, preferably by construction bolts (not shown), which may be left in place when the concrete is poured to form the main innerbody ofthe hull. Since such forms. are well-known in this art, theyare not shown .in the drawings- Between ysuch :formsin the spaces to be subsequently illed withv l.concrete for the ribs v8 and the bottoms ,the reinforcing rodskv 'for `the .concrete construction. Referring to 2 and 3, the longitudinal rods/1l arefor the inner botsition bythe' nails .or pins llextending -in- 4:vvar'dly through'tlie planks asv-shown in Fig., 2; .suoh'pins may have their inner ends hook-shaped as at 17 toengage and hold the tom '.9`=and` the longitudinal rods 12 for the 9 and lOl suspendg'in .any suitable manner ,rods-l2, 4or they lmay be scoured to the I may also provideanfinner flooring. 18 which .shall .serve as .a false bottom ;for the .Ship and .supper-'tithe cargo, though this is `not essential forjmy invention. This flooring. 1,8 is ofaseries Y.of planks .19, suitably jointedtogether, and may. b efsecured to the reinforcing rods 11 by nails or pinsQOv as .shown 2in v.Higgs 2...; 2l designates thexdeckY of my improved hull which-deck may be made of concrete and secured to the side walls of the hull in any suitable manner as shown, and 22 is the keelson preferably integral with the inner bottom 9 and outer bottom 10 as shown in Fig. 1.

Vhen the forms and rods have been placed in position as described, the concrete is then poured wit-hin the sheathing 6 and inner iooring 18 to form the inner and outer bot-- toms 9 and 10 and the ribs 8, the planking of the inner iiooring being added as the concrete is poured. When the concrete has set the collapsible forms are removed from the series of the cellular spaces7 formed through suitably located man-holes (not shown). The body of concrete may be made of any desired thickness according to the strength and weight of hull construction desired, the thickness of the body of concrete forming the self-sust-aining construction being preferably greater than the outer sheathing, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be observed that the concrete body of the hull is fully protected both inside and out against chipping and breakage due to sharpblows, and that the nails or pins 16 and 20 serve not only to hold the Wooden sheathing 6 and inner flooring 18 securely in place, and strongly attached to their respective concrete bottoms, but also may act to support and hold the reinforcing rods in position, there- I by increasing the unity and solidarity of the combined parts forming the hull construction. By my invention as hereinbefore described a hull construction is provided of practically one piece having an exceptionally strong and rigid structure, while the outer sheathing prevents injurious seepage through the concrete bottom 10, while acting as a buffer against destructive blows.

I claim as my invention 1. The method of forming a unitary composite hull construction which consists in first laying an outer protective sheathing, then removably attaching inside said sheathing and in proximity thereto spaced-apart forms, then laying reinforcements in the spaces between the sheathing and forms and securing said reinforcements-to the sheathing, and finally molding concrete against the sheathing and around the reinforcements e to provide the main strength of the hull.

2Q The method of forming a composite hull construction which consists in first laying an outer protective wooden sheathing, then removably attaching in proximity thereto spaced-apart forms inside of said sheathing, then laying transverse reinforcements between the sheathing and also the separated forms and securing said reinforcements to the sheathing, and nally molding concrete against the sheathing 1 and Varound the reinforcements and also between and around said separated forms to provide the main strength of the hull.

3. A unitary hull construction comprising an inner integral body of concrete of suficient thickness to constitute a self-sustaining hull body providing the main strength of the hull, said concrete body consisting of spaced-apart inner and outer bottoms with suitably spaced-apart upright ribs therebetween and reinforcing rods rectangularly disposed and interiorly embedded in said bottoms and ribs, an outer protective wooden sheathing conforming substantially at all points to the desired contour of the outer bottom by having said concrete bottom molded and compacted indivisibly thereagainst, and interlocking means aiiixed to and passing through said sheathing and concrete and secured to said embedded reinforcing rods to form a unitary composite hull construction.

4. A composite hull construction comprising an inner integral body of concrete of sufficient thickness to constitute a selfsustaining hull body providing the main strength of the hull, said body consisting of suitably spaced apart inner and outer bottoms with suitably spaced-apart upright ribs therebetween, longitudinal and transverse reinforcing rods interiorly embedded in said bottoms and ribs, an outer protective wooden sheathing of less thickness than said concrete body and conforming substantially at all points to the desired contour of the outer bottom which has been molded and compacted indivisibly against said sheathing, and interlocking means affixed to and passing through said sheathing and concrete and secured to said longitudinal reinforcing rods toform a unitary composite hull construction.

5. A composite hull construction comprising an inner integral body of concrete of suiiicient thickness to constitute a selfsustaining hull body providing the main strength of the hull, said body consisting of suitably spaced apart inner and outer bottoms with suitably spaced-apart upright ribs therebetween, longitudinal and transverse reinforcing rods interiorly embedded in said bottoms and ribs, an outer protective wooden sheathing of less thickness than said concrete body and conforming substantially at all points to the desired contour of the outer bottom which has been molded and compacted indivisibly against said sheathing, and pins affixed to and passing through Said sheathing and concrete and securedto said longitudinal reinforcing rods'to form af unitary composite hull construction.

I SILAS H. WOODARD.

Copies of this patent'may be obtained for five-cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Y v Washington, D. C. 

